Academic Standing - A term used to describe how you are doing academically. There are five Academic Standings at Ryerson: Clear, Probationary, Required to Withdraw, Permanent Program Withdrawal, and Disciplinary Suspension. (More information in Academic Matters: Academic Standing)

Advanced Standing - When you have been admitted into Ryerson at a level other than first year or first semester.

Advisement Report - An advising transcript that assesses all courses that you have taken or are enrolled in, and determines which ones will be used towards graduation requirements.

Aegrotat Grade - Credit granted by a Dean, in consultation with the instructor, only under exceptional circumstances when there has been acceptable performance in a course and some course work remains to be completed. (More information in Academic Matters: Aegrotat Grade)

Antirequisite - When one course is too similar in content to another course to allow both to be used for credit towards graduation.

Audit/Auditor - To audit a course, or to be an auditor, is to attend classes but not receive an evaluation or marks. Only day lecture courses can be audited; no labs or continuing education courses are available for audit.

Awards - Refers collectively to awards, bursaries, and scholarships. (More information in Money Matters: Awards)

Calendars - Each university publishes a calendar, which is a statement of all the courses, program requirements, and rules. Ryerson publishes four calendars: one for undergraduate full-time (day) programs, one for undergraduate part-time programs, one for The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education and one for Graduate students. These calendars are available online at www.ryerson.ca/calendar

Chair/Director - The head of a department. The Chair is a member of the faculty who is appointed for a term of five years.

Challenge Credits - Prior academic credit for learning and experience outside of the traditional post-secondary environment. (More information in Academic Matters: Challenge Credit)

Convocation - The graduation ceremony in which eligible students are presented with their certificate or degree. Ryerson's Convocations occur twice a year in June and October. See Academic Matters: The Graduation Ceremony (Convocation) for more information.

Co-requisite - A course you must take either at the same time or before you take another course.

Course/Class - A unit of study on a specific topic. Ryerson has both single-term and multi-term courses. Single-term courses run from September to December. Multi-term courses run from September to April and are identified by an A or B suffix within the course number.

Course Outline - A description of a course which must be distributed at the beginning of the term/semester. Academic Matters: Course Management Policy tells you the information a course outline must provide.

Course Substitution/Directive - The term given to substituting a course (or a Transfer Credit CRT), that is not a regular part of your program's curriculum toward your degree. (More information in Academic Matters: Course Substitution/Directive)

Course Unit - The total number of courses you are enrolled in each term. Each program has a standard number of courses for each term and/or year you are in. Your fees are calculated according to what percentage of the standard course units you are taking.

Curriculum - This is the course of study in each program. All the courses you are expected to take to earn your degree make up the curriculum. At Ryerson, the curriculum for each program is made up of three parts: required core courses, professionally related courses, and liberal studies.

Dean - The person responsible for an entire Faculty. Normally, a Dean is a member of the faculty that is appointed for a term of five years.

Department - The body that offers a specific area of study. Sometimes called a School. Ryerson has more than 55 academic departments. Of these, 46 are responsible for degree programs, called program departments or schools; the rest are called teaching departments.

Faculty - Faculty is used in two ways:

1. The people who teach at Ryerson and other universities. 2. A group of departments divided by subject areas. Ryerson has six faculties: Arts, Communication & Design, Community Services, Engineering and Architectural Science, Science, and the Ted Rogers School of Management.

Fees Statement - This tells you how much you owe Ryerson and acts as a receipt when you have paid your fees. (More information in Money Matters: Fees Assessment Policies)

The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education - Ryerson's G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education offers certificate programs, degree credit courses and professional and personal development courses in the evening, on weekends, during the day and by distance education. (Academic Matters: The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education Certificates)

Grade Point Average (GPA) - The average of all the grades you receive in your program at Ryerson, with some exceptions. (More information in Academic Matters: Grades and Grade Point Averages)

Incomplete - Incomplete course work or a missed final examination due to documented medical or compassionate grounds. Students must petition for an INC grade and provide documentation within time lines. (More information in Academic Matters: Grades and Grade Point Averages)

International Students - Students who have come to Canada to study. They are given a special student visa. International students may only have jobs on campus and are required to pay more fees than Canadian citizens or landed immigrants.

Letter of Permission - A document that allows you to take a course at another post-secondary institution for credit at Ryerson (see Academic Matters: Letter of Permission for more information).

Official Transcript - The official record of your grades at Ryerson. (More information in Academic Matters: Transcripts)

Out of Phase - You are considered "out of phase" if for any reason you are not taking all your program's first-year courses while you are in your first year at Ryerson, the second-year courses while you are in second year, and so on.

Prerequisite - A course you must have taken (and passed) before you can take a more senior course.

School - Another term for Department.

Section - A division of the students in a class/course into smaller groups.

Special Student - You are a Special Student if you are taking day courses but you are not enrolled in a specific program. (More information in Academic Matters: Special Students)

Student Association - This term refers to the (two) student representative bodies at Ryerson. All full-time students are members of the Ryerson Students' Union (RSU) while all part-time degree and continuing education students are members of the Continuing Education Students' Association of Ryerson (CESAR).

Subject Area - A subject of instruction; a field of knowledge.

Term/Semester - One academic session, typically lasting 12 weeks, (except for the BEng programs which are typically 13 weeks). (continuing education terms may vary, with the final week usually an exam/evaluation week.) At Ryerson there are three terms: Fall, Winter, and Spring/Summer.

Time Span - The number of years normally given to complete graduation requirements. (More information in Academic Matters: Graduation)

Transfer Credit - Credit toward your Ryerson degree program for courses you have taken somewhere else prior to admission (More information in Academic Matters: Graduation)